Oil changes. “They are the cheapest, most important thing you can do for the life of your vehicle!” exclaims Sean White, master technician at the VIP Tires & Service in Laconia, N.H. Sean once worked on a Jeep, with over 37K miles, that had never had an oil change. When he finally pried the oil cap off it was just a mess. There are few words he uses to describe the situation: “really, it’s more of a sound of disbelief than actual words.”

Sean grew up tinkering — working on old tractors and disassembling parts for aluminum and copper scrap. Growing up, Sean’s parents would tease him that he had a million alarm clocks and radios, always in different stages of assemblage. Sean’s defense? “I just wanted to know what was on the inside and how all the different models worked.” Nowadays, Sean watches his 13-year old son follow his tinkering these footsteps — most recently observing his son putting in new brakes on his four-wheeler.

As part of the VIP team for the past six years, Sean has been working as a professional technician for well over 20 years. When the time came for something closer to home that was also supportive of his very active family life, Sean made his way to Laconia’s VIP Tires & Service. Sean and his wife have two very active teenagers who love to play just about every sport there is. Did we mention Sean also loves to cook? Next time you’re at the Laconia VIP Tires & Service, ask him about his American Chop Suey — a legend at his house.

One of Sean’s favorite things about working at VIP Tires & Service is that he gets to work on the bigger trucks — 2500 and 3500 series. “These trucks are grittier, harder to take apart and have bigger front ends.” (Sounds like Sean’s love of tinkering at work!) But tinkering isn’t the only thing Sean loves about working as a VIP technician. He is eager to get on the job and will often start working on vehicle before a car even drives into the bay – by researching the make, model and issue(s). This preparation, he says, is an important sign of a great technician.

Sean wants to make sure his customers are educated about their vehicle. He will let you know what needs to be fixed immediately and if other issues have more room to play — keeping safety in mind, of course. Every vehicle that Sean touches, he treats as if it belongs to his wife or daughter — “I as myself, would it be ok letting one of them drive this vehicle in this condition?” Sean won’t force an auto repair that is not necessary but does encourage his customers to schedule regular maintenance check-ins and to become educated operators.